Thunder and hail

It was a typical English April day of thunder and hail, though there were some sunny spells. The new leaves on the trees are a reminder that we'll get through Eliot's cruellest month.

A Robin by the Triangle was collecting insects for its nestlings somewhere in the shrubbery.

The pair at Mount Gate haven't started nesting yet. They should get a move on.

The usual Coal Tit picked me up at Mount Gate and followed me as far as the Albert Memorial. This is a different one in the Flower Walk wondering whether it dares come to my hand. It didn't, but it probably will soon.

A pair of Long-Tailed Tits is nesting in a bush in the Dell.

A Pied Wagtail at the boat hire platform took a brief rest from hunting midges.

The pair of Jays at the northeast corner of the Long Water hadn't been seen for a while but turned up again today, as hungry as ever.

A Carrion Crow also arrived. It dunked its peanut in a puddle, as crows do.

The Great Crested Grebe nest at the Vista is still on the go. Is it late enough in the year for there to be enough small fish to feed the chicks? In past years a few have survived from this time, but the best time for grebes to nest is midsummer and most of them realise this.

There were three peacefully together by the Dell restaurant, a sign that they are recently arrived and haven't yet started claiming territory.

Coot nests are going up everywhere, including in some very silly places. This attempt on the open edge of the Serpentine will probably be abandoned soon. Even Coots sometime realise when an enterprise is hopeless.

The nine Coot chicks in the Italian Garden fountain are now starting to feed themselves, cropping algae off the stone kerb. Their parents are still bringing them food and will continue for some time.

The female Mute Swan on the Long Water nesting island got up to turn her eggs. You can't count them from this low angle of view, especially as they are mixed up with white feathers shed in preening.

The Black Swan had been chased away from the east end of the Serpentine by the aggressive male 4FUK and was by himself, looking rather melancholy.

The brood of nine Egyptian goslings on the Serpentine was surprisingly intact.

The single gosling at the Lido was feeding among the daisies.

A family with four teenagers was disturbed by riders. They were not in real danger as horses pick their steps carefully, but the riders' behaviour seems a shade oafish. The family must be the one from Marble Arch which has come down to the park, maybe for the first time as I haven't seen them here before.

A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee landed on a bluebell in the Dell but was too large to get in. It flew off to find a more accommodating flower.